Falling
by starryblossoms
Summary: Sequel to Sickness Strikes. He turned and looked at the cliffs edge considering his chances of surviving the fall and the tides. 'Ten to one' he thought worriedly as he kept an eye on the approaching figure."I'll take those odds!" he cried jumping off.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so this is the sequel to Sickness Strikes. Sorry it took so long my three month old nephew was diagnosed **

**with muscular dystrophy on Friday and that's why its taken so long to update. That and it took me a while to **

**overcome the whole no one cares about this story anyway thing. So I hope you like the story. **

"I hate snow." Jiraiya grumbled as they tramped though the woods heading to the sound village. Kabuto and

Orochimaru

snorted as Tsunade punched him. Sora looked at Orochimaru and Kabuto. "Are they always like this?" she asked

as Jiraiya and Tsunade started to argue.

Orochimaru smiled and chuckled. "Since we were little." he replied still smiling as he

watched Tsunade hit him again. "Is he okay?" Sora whispered staring at Jiraiya pushing himself up off the snow

covered ground.

Kabuto grinned. "I think so." he replied laughing as Tsunade got pegged by a snow ball. Sora nodded and

continued walking with Orochimaru and Kabuto. "So why did you decide to come with us, Sora?" Kabuto asked

ignoring the sound of snow balls hitting flesh. Sora blushed and smiled.

"I just got tired of living there." she replied nervously laughing. Kabuto and Orochimaru shared a smile. 'Real

smooth Sora.' the green eyed girl thought to herself with a sigh. "So do you have any skills?" Kabuto then asked

tilting his head to the side. She smiled. "Well I can paint and I am a master swordsman." she replied smiling at

their slightly shocked expressions.

"That's wonderful." Orochimaru said ignoring the strangled cry for help from Jiraiya. Sora smiled and blushed at

Orochimaru's comment. "We're almost at the sound village." Orochimaru said smiling. 'I hope I fit in.' she thought

worriedly as the sound village's gates came into view.

**Okay so that is it for the first chapter! Please review and feel free to suggest anything it needs or you want in **

**the story. Thanks! **


	2. Dreams

**Wow, it been too long since the last update. Sorry I'm battling with writer's block so I'm a bit slow right now. A special thanks to the four who reviewed so far. You guys rock! :) Okay chapter 2 **

**I don't own Naruto**

"Wow." Sora said as she walked into the village with Orochimaru and the others. Orochimaru smiled at her as they continued to walk deeper into the village. "It was originally just a underground compound, but Tsunade and Konoha helped me to build it into a actual village." the sannin said smiling as Sora looked around. Kabuto smiled at Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sama I need to go check on my student." He then said still smiling as Orochimaru nodded and gave Kabuto a small smile as the medic began to walk off towards the medical building. Sora smiled as she watched him go.

"So where do I live?" Sora questioned smiling again. Orochimaru grinned at her as they continued walking to a big house close to the middle of the village.

"You're going to live with Kabuto, his students, and I." Orochimaru said gesturing to the house in front of them. Sora stared wide eyed at the house and then at the smiling a sannin. 'I get to live with them.' she thought to herself happily. While she was in thought Orochimaru had already unlocked the door and moved inside.

"Are you coming?" he asked smiling as she snapped out of her revere and blushed. As she walked into the spacious house behind Orochimaru. 'Wow.' she thought marveling at the hardwood floors and pale yellow walls. 'It's beautiful'

"Your room will be upstairs." the sannin said as they made their way to the spiral staircase near the living room and began the ascent to the upstairs. Orochimaru lead her down the hallway and turned to the right opening the first door they came to. Sora gasped as Orochimaru opened the door to reveal red wood floors and pale purple walls. Sora smiled as she walked into the large room. Taking in the four poster bed and balcony as well as the large windows.

"It's beautiful." she whispered smiling at Orochimaru. The sannin laughed and smiled softly.

"And I can see the sunset though the windows." she said smiling happily.

"I thought you would like it." he replied smiling at her. "You also have a bathroom in here like all the other bed rooms." he said smiling. "I need to go check on Kabuto, will you be okay here?" he then asked smiling as she nodded. Orochimaru turned and left shutting the door. The moment it shut she squealed and spun around.

Orochimaru made his way to the medical building smiling and thanking his well wishers and those who where happy to have him back in the village. The sannin paused when his eye sight went and fuzzy and he felt woozy. Orochimaru shook his head and continued on his way to the labs. Orochimaru opened the doors to the main lab and stood stock still in shock. Kabuto and Ayame were in a heated lip lock in the middle of the other wise empty room.

"Well I was coming to check on you but I see the you're good." Orochimaru said smiling.

Orochimaru snickered and watched as Kabuto pulled away and looked at him with wide eyes face

turning as red a tomato. At that both Orochimaru and Ayame began to laugh outright. Kabuto rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I swear I'm surrounded by children." he said still a bright shade of crimson. Orochimaru laughed again and placed a hand on Kabuto's shoulder and smiled at him. Ayame smiled and left the room claiming the she had to go check blood samples. Both sannin and medic smiled at her and nodded as she left the room. Without warning Orochimaru gasped a little as his eyes went fuzzy again and he swayed.

"Orochimaru-sama."Kabuto gasped placing his hands on Orochimaru's arms and steadying him pulling the sannin closer to him. Kabuto frowned a little and looked into the sannin's eyes.

"Are you okay?" Kabuto whispered worriedly his eyes searching the sannin's face. Orochimaru grinned softly and nodded.

"I'm fine Kabuto." Orochimaru whispered smiling at Kabuto and squeezing his hand tightly for a moment before letting go and taking a small step back. Kabuto continued to look at the sannin worriedly.

"Are you sure?" Kabuto whispered softly frowning a little and looking into Orochimaru's eyes again. Orochimaru smiled indulgently at Kabuto and nodded.

"I'm fine Kabuto, I promise I am." Orochimaru replied smiling again and pulling Kabuto out of the room come on its time for dinner." He said tugging Kabuto out of the building.

He ran as fast as he could, twigs snapping and thorns tearing at his clothing. His breaths coming in ragged, panicked pants as he stumbled to a stop at a cross roads. 'Which way will keep me safe' he thought terror clawing at his every nerve.

He heard a twig snap behind him and he shot down the left hand path running for all he was worth. He continued to run breathing becoming more ragged as time went on. And suddenly he stumbled to a stop at the edge of a cliff. He stared down into the dark churning waters below and gulped. Another twig snapped and he spun around letting out an involuntary whimper as he saw what had been chasing him.

'What do I do!' he thought as he began to tremble. He turned and looked at the cliffs edge considering his chances of surviving the fall and the tides. ' ten to one' he thought worriedly as he kept an eye on the approaching figure.

"I'll take those odds!" he shouted jumping off the cliff just barely missing an attack. "I hope I make it." he murmured closing his eyes as his body hit the water.

Orochimaru jerked awake breathing hard and in a cold sweat. The sannin whimpered a little and sighed. "Who was that?." he whispered to himself still shaking in terror. 'Thirsty.' he thought as he got up and went to get a drink of water from the kitchen. Not seeing the dark shadow leaping out his window.

**Yay! It took me three days to write that. Orochimaru was dreaming of someone else. So anyway please read and review! Thanks**


	3. Worry

**Okay chapter 3 is up! I'm sorry its taken so long I'm having a hard time at the moment. Warning! I can not write these two in character at all! Just so you know.**

**I do not own Naruto. **

Orochimaru walked down to hallway towards the kitchen, flinching at each and every sound that the house made. He shook him self and continued though the dark to the kitchen.

As the sannin rounded the corner the stopped dead in his tracks. Standing at the window there was a man, he spun around when Orochimaru enter the room and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Orochimaru gasped softly and shook his head.

"I have got to stop eating dumplings." he said softly blowing of the incident by blaming it on food , exhaustion and his jumpiness from the dream.

Orochimaru sighed as he sat down at the table with a glass of water. ' Such a strange dream I wonder what happened to the person in it.' he thought as he sipped his water. 'hmm, I wonder if it was about..' "Orochimaru-sama?" said sannin jumped turned around and smiled.

"Hello Kabuto." Orochimaru said as Kabuto came more into the room and sat down. "What are you doing up? It's two o'clock in the morning." Kabuto said smiling a little. Orochimaru yawned and smiling again.

"I was thirsty and I had a strange dream." he said staring into his water glass. Kabuto sat a little straighter in his seat at hearing about a strange dream.

"What was it about?" he asked curiously. Orochimaru sighed softly and began to speak.

"The dream started off with a person running as fast as he could, twigs snapping and thorns tearing at his clothing. His breaths were coming in ragged, panicked pants as he stumbled to a stop at a cross roads. 'Which way will keep me safe' he thought terror clawing at his every nerve.

He heard a twig snap behind him and he shot down the left hand path running for all he was worth. He continued to run breathing becoming more ragged as time went on. And suddenly he stumbled to a stop at the edge of a cliff.

He stared down into the dark churning waters below and gulped. Another twig snapped and he spun around letting out an involuntary whimper as he saw what had been chasing him.

'What do I do!' he thought as he began to tremble. He turned and looked at the cliffs edge considering his chances of surviving the fall and the tides. ' Ten to one' he thought worriedly as he kept an eye on the approaching figure.

"I'll take those odds!" he shouted jumping off the cliff just barely missing an attack.

"I hope I make it." he murmured closing his eyes as his body hit the water. And then I woke up, I don't even know what had been chasing him or who he is." Orochimaru finished. Kabuto frowned slightly and looked at the table.

"Do you think that this dream person is real somewhere?" he questioned. Orochimaru sighed looking at the table in thought.

"I think it's possible. But it seems like someone I already know." he replied frowning softly in slight worry. Kabuto smiled at him.

"I'm sure it's fine though. Even if this person is real how would we know who he is?" Kabuto said smiling at him. Orochimaru smiled back and yawned tiredly.

"I don't know. It probably really was just a dream." Orochimaru replied still smiling at him. Orochimaru yawned again and stood up gasping as he began to cough and sway. Kabuto stood up quickly looking scared.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto gasped moving around the table and catching the sannin as he fell. Orochimaru began to cough and choke on the blood bubbling up his throat Kabuto gasped terror pumping though his veins.

"I knew you weren't well." he whispered quietly hefting Orochimaru into his arms.

He carefully stood up cringing when he saw the blood running down Orochimaru's chin. Kabuto took off for the medical center in the village. Kabuto glanced down at the sannin as he ran to the center only to find Orochimaru looking at him confused.

"You collapsed and you are coughing up blood. When did this start?" Kabuto said worriedly as he opened the door to the medical center and rushed to one of the rooms.

He gently sat Orochimaru on the bed and turned to find a blanket. Orochimaru coughed softly wincing when he saw more blood on his hands.

"The blood started when I ran away to that village. But the dizziness and fainting began a a day ago." he replied quietly. Kabuto spun around and glared at him.

"And you just didn't tell me any of this until now? Do you know how serious this is? That you could die? Do you care so little for yourself the village and me?" by that point Kabuto didn't even realize that he was shouting and trembling.

Orochimaru stared at the medic shocked by the outburst. 'He cares that much for me..?' Orochimaru thought to himself not knowing whether to slap Kabuto or hug him.

He watched as Kabuto spun around and began to gather needles and the things he needed discreetly wiping his eyes as he went.

Kabuto came back to Orochimaru's side and began to set up the hypodermic needles and syringes on the small metal table. Orochimaru continued to look at Kabuto worrying when the medic began to shake even harder

"Kabuto?" Orochimaru whispered softly. "Kabuto, are you okay?" he asked frowning when Kabuto did not look up at him. Orochimaru sighed softly and looked back at Kabuto.

"I apologize, Kabuto, I should have told you sooner. And I do care about the village and you very, very much. I just got distracted and forgot about them mostly." Orochimaru whispered softly looking shyly at the medic. Kabuto looked at him and smiled a little.

"I care about you very much too. We all do. I:m sorry I yelled at you." Kabuto replied his smile widening as Orochimaru pulled him into an soft, warm hug.

"But if you tell anyone that I apologized I kill you." Orochimaru said softly gently squeezing him a little. Kabuto just smiled and snuggled a little deeper into the embrace.

Please read and review! I promise to have the next chapter out by next Friday! Thanks for reading!


	4. Doorway

**Sorry this is so late! I got stuck being sick and going to the hospital and other stuff. Okay so here's the story! And thank you to kabutoshizune1 for reviewing my last chapter. **

**I don't own Naruto but I do own Ayame, Sora, and the plot.**

Kabuto sighed softly and pulled out of the embrace. Orochimaru just looked at him questioningly. The medic smiled softly and gestured to the metal table holding needles and syringes.

"I still need to take your blood and things," he clarified still smiling a little. Orochimaru grimaced a little as the needle slid into his arm. Kabuto frowned a little.

"You really hate getting you're blood taken don't you?" he asked glancing at the sannin as he shuddered. Orochimaru looked at Kabuto.

"Does it look like I enjoy this?" he asked sounding exasperated. Kabuto sighed softly and gently pulled the needle out.

"I'm sorry, I need to take some blood though." Orochimaru simply nodded and folded his arms against his stomach. Suddenly orochimaru stiffened and his gaze locked on a dark figure in the doorway.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto murmured looking worriedly at the sannin. Orochimaru continued to stare out the doorway.

"Kabuto do you see that man in the doorway?" he whispered as he began to chew on his bottom lip nervously. Kabuto looked around and frowned when he saw nothing.

"Orochimaru-sama I don't see anything." the medic said worriedly. Orochimaru nodded and bit his bottom lip with worry.

"I know he was there." Orochimaru said nearly to himself frowning.

**Wow this is so late. I hope you enjoyed! Please review.**


	5. Authors plea for help!

**Author's Note!**

**I seem to be having writers block on this story. So I need some help, if any of my nice reviewers would be so kind. I need a beta reader or some one to help me with this story so it can be finished. So please help me if you have the time. I have a prologue of sorts coming out for this story and sickness strikes by the way so be on the look out for that as well it should be out in the next few days. **


	6. Kidnapped again

**Okay so my best friend is helping me to get more ideas for the story. SO on to the story!**

**I don't own Naruto**

Kabuto sighed and took the blood over to a machine to test it. 'I wonder who he saw.' Kabuto thought as he loaded the test tubes into the machine and turned it on.

"Why don't we go back to bed." Kabuto said smiling a little. 'The results won't be in for a couple of hours and you need the sleep. He said walking over to the bed as Orochimaru got up and slid off of the bed still looking slightly disturbed by what he saw.

"Sleep sounds nice." he said sounding slightly distracted but smiling a little at Kabuto none the less. Kabuto beamed at him and nodded leading the way out of the lab. Kabuto glanced at the sannin out of the corner of his eyes as they walked down the main road of the village.

'He still looks upset by all of this.' Kabuto thought stealing another glance before the sannin could notice.

"Have you been having nightmare often as of late?" Kabuto suddenly asked looking at the sannin a little more closely noticing how tired he looked. Orochimaru shook his head and looked to Kabuto.

"The one I had tonight is the first I have had in months." he replied glancing at the ground and then back at the medic.

"Why?" he questioned sounding slightly suspicious. Kabuto smiled a little and blushed slightly.

"I was just noticing how tired you look. I'm worried." he said slowly and waited for a reply, when he got no reply he began to worry that he had angered the sannin.

Kabuto looked up and frowned when he noticed the sannin staring fixedly at a spot over Kabuto's shoulder. Kabuto gasped slightly and moved forward quickly to catch the sannin as he began to sway and collapse.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto whispered worriedly glancing back over his shoulder to try to find what his master had been staring at just moments before he collapsed. He then turned his gaze to the sannin unconscious in his arms.

"What were you looking at?" he whispered as he hefted the sannin up into his arms and carried Orochimaru back towards their house.

'This is just getting odd.' Kabuto thought as he laid Orochimaru into the bed in the master bedroom and pulled the blankets up around him. Kabuto looked at the sannin for a moment and then frowned.

"I wish I knew what you saw." he whispered. "Then I might be able to help you more." he finished as he quietly left the room and shut the door behind him.

" Now the fun begins." a man's voice said as he stepped out of the shadows.

Kabuto rolled over and looked at his alarm clock. 'Six o'clock. The results should be done now.' he though as he pushed the covers off and sat up yawning.

"I should probably bring Orochimaru-sama as well so he can see the results as well." he said to himself as he pulled his hair up into a ponytail and left to go and wake up a sannin.

He knocked respectfully before opening the door only to gasp in shock.

"Orochimaru-sama?" he gasped again moving father into the torn apart room. Eyes wide he looked around trying to make sure that Orochimaru wasn't hurt somewhere. He then moved towards a broken desk near the open window.

"Oh no." he whispered

"This desk was kicked from the side closest to the window and the front was kicked almost like he was dragged by it while struggling." he murmured to himself as he leaned out of the window.

"Kabuto?" a female voice asked causing Kabuto to slam his head into the window frame be fore he turned to face the owner of the voice.

"Oh, Sora. What are doing here?" Kabuto asked as he pressed a chakra infused hand to back of his now aching head. Sora smiled at him and then looked around.

"Wh..what happened here?" she said sounding shocked and worried. Kabuto sighed softly and frowned.

"I believe Orochimaru-sama has been kidnapped...again." Kabuto whispered sounding upset and looking worried.

Sora smiled a little at him hoping to raise his spirits a little. Kabuto frowned even more so when he saw her smile.

'Why on earth is she smiling at a time like this.' he thought angrily.

"I'm sure we'll find him soon." she said leaving the room still smiling a little. Kabuto frowned watching her leave.

'That was odd.' he thought as he headed quickly from the room to go find the other two sannin to tell them what happened to Orochimaru.


	7. Searching

**And once again it's been to long since I last updated. But anyway here's the next chapter! Sorry if they're out of character. I just can not seem to write Orochimaru and Kabuto in character. Please review.**

**I do not own Naruto.**

Kabuto ran down the hallway still thinking about Sora and how odd she acted. 'Maybe it was all in my head?' he thought to himself as he careened around yet another corner and into the kitchen where the two remaining sannin where located. Tsunadae turned and looked at the panting medic.

"What's wrong?" she asked looking slightly concerned as Jiraiya pushed of the counter he was leaning on. Kabuto sighed softly and frowned.

"Orochimaru-sama's gone missing...again." he said softly worry seeping into his tone. Jiraiya looked worriedly at Tsunade. "We'll need to start searching for him." Jiraiya said softly looking at the others. Kabuto nodded and look towards the ground in thought.

"I'll go north and look around the cliffs and forest." he said looking at Jiraiya and Tsunade. "Okay then I'll go west along the caves." Tsunade said smiling a little. "I'll go to the east side of the forest and cliffs." Jiraiya said shortly looking at the others. "And we meet at the gates of the village in three hours." Kabuto said smiling a little. The other two nodded and they all ran from the kitchen to start the search. Never seeing the shadowy figure standing just outside the door.

Kabuto sighed softly as he made his way thought the thick underbrush. 'Where could you be?' he though worriedly as he walked. He spun around when he heard a twig snap behind him. Narrowing his eyes Kabuto pulled a kunai from his pouch and made his way back towards the area where he heard the sound. The bush began to rustle and then a squirrel jumped out and ran off. Kabuto sighed and laughed a little.

"Just a squirrel, I must be jumpy." he said smiling a little as he continued on his way stopping once again when he heard a twig snap behind him. 'Another squirrel?' he thought turning around only to let out a gasp of horror.

"That is no squirrel." he said weakly as the beast growled at him. Kabuto spun on his heel and took of running for all he was worth.

"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya shouted for the umpteenth time as he walked along the cliffs edge. Looking towards the water he sighed a little. 'Somethings not right with this. ' he thought frowning. 'That girl, Sora, I wonder..' his thoughts got cut off when he heard a loud cry of fear from further down the coast.

His eyes widened and he ran back towards the sound.

"Kabuto!"

Orochimaru groaned as his eyes fluttered open. "Where am I?" he murmured quietly as he looked around himself, quickly noting that he was tied to a tree and by the cliffs. His eyes narrowed as he remembered being attacked the night before and being drug from his rooms. "I wonder if the others are okay," he whispered looking up when he heard a loud cry and gasping at what he saw.

Kabuto ran as fast as he could, twigs snapping and thorns tearing at his clothing. His breaths coming in ragged, panicked pants as he stumbled to a stop at a cross roads. 'Which way will keep me safe' he thought terror clawing at his every nerve. He heard a twig snap behind him and he shot down the left hand path running for all he was worth. He continued to run breathing becoming more ragged as time went on. And suddenly he stumbled to a stop at the edge of a cliff. He stared down into the dark churning waters below and gulped. Another twig snapped and he spun around letting out an involuntary whimper as he saw what had been chasing him again.

'What do I do!' he thought as he began to tremble. Kabuto turned and looked at the cliffs edge considering his chances of surviving the fall and the tides. ' Ten to one' he thought worriedly as he kept an eye on the approaching figure. "I'll take those odds!" he shouted jumping off the cliff just barely missing an attack. "I hope I make it." he murmured closing his eyes as his body hit the water.

Orochimaru's eyes widened when he saw a twelve foot tall furry thing attacking the medic. He watched as Kabuto glanced behind himself and then jumped off the cliff barely avoiding the attack that left three very deep gouge marks in the ground.

"Kabuto!" he cried out loudly soon regretting the action as the beast turned its yellow eyes on him and growled stalking towards him.

Jiraiya continued to run in the direction he heard Kabuto's cry come from. "I'm sure it was in this direction." he murmured as he looked around. Jumping slightly when he heard Orochimaru screaming Kabuto's name. His eyes widened and he ran towards the sound of Orochimaru's voice. He burst into a small clearing on the cliff seeing Orochimaru chained to a tree with deep claw marks around him and his head down..

"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya cried running to him and dropping to his knees in front of him and carefully lifting his head and looking worriedly at him.

"Orochimaru? Are you alright?" he whispered softly looking into Orochimaru's amber eyes. Orochimaru blinked and then whimpered slightly.

"Kabuto, Kabuto he...he jumped he almost got k..killed be a monstrous c..creature." he whispered softly looking a little dazed and extremely upset and worried. Jiraiya frowned a little and nodded.

"I'm sure he's okay." Jiraiya said softly as he got the chains off of the other sannin. Orochimaru just sighed quietly and looked to the ground.

"I hope so." he whispered worriedly. Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru in concern and carefully took his hand and led him in to the woods.

"We need to get you back to the village." he said softly.

"This is the longest cave ever." Tsunade said aggrievedly as she walked though the dark, damp cave. 'Where does this even go?' she though as she began to speed up a little to try o get though it faster. Suddenly she saw a light ahead in the distance.

"Finally!" she cried as she ran towards the light finally bursting out onto a beach. She squinted slight trying to adjust to the sun when something lying in the surf got her attention. She slowly made her way over to it and as her vision began to clear she realized that it was not a thing but a person. She slid to her knees next to the person and carefully rolled the person over and gasped.

"Kabuto! Kabuto can you hear me?" she cried gently checking his pulse finding it to be weak and thready. She placed a hand against his chest quickly discovering that he was not breathing at all.

"It'll be alright." she whispered to him as she began mouth to mouth resuscitation, keeping a hand on his chest to measure his heart beats. She pulled back when Kabuto spasmed slightly beneath her hand and gasped slightly beginning to cough. Tsunade pulled back and rolled Kabuto onto his left side letting him cough up all the water he inhaled.

"It's alright." she whispered gently rubbing his back feeling his shivers as he finished coughing up water. Without a second thought she stripped her jacket off and wrapped him up in it carefully pulling his limp body up onto her back and took off running back towards the village.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood by the gates of the village and waited the return of Tsunade and Kabuto. Jiraiya looked around agitatedly and frowned.

"What could be taking them so long? The three hours are almost up." he grumbled glaring down the path only startling when Orochimaru yelped behind him.

"Are you alright?" he said taking in the confused look on his face. Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya clearly upset now.

"I know I just saw that creature again but then it just disappeared." he said softly looking very unsure for a moment before it changed into concern.

"Here comes Tsunade and shes carrying someone." he said worriedly as he moved forwards a few feet to help Tsunade. 'A hallucination?' Jiraiya thought for a moment before rushing towards the others to help.

"Kabuto." Orochimaru gasped softly as he gently took his medic from Tsunade and into his own arms. "Did you find him near the ocean?" he questioned as he wrapped Tsunade's jacket closer to the shivering teen in his arms.

"Yes, I did. He wasn't breathing so I resuscitated him." she stated looking quizzically at Orochimaru. "How did you know?" she questioned quietly. Orochimaru smiled grimly and looked at Kabuto's pale face.

"I saw him jump to keep from being killed." he said softly attempting to ignore the creature and shadowy figure at the edge of his vision as they walked into the village.

**Wow. This is so late! Sorry for the long wait. Anyway please review. Reviews keep authors alive :D **


	8. Discovery

**Okay so I've finally rediscovered my love of writing. So Ill be updating more than I have been recently. If anyone has any ideas or a way to make this story better please don't hesitate to tell me. If I'm not updating fast enough feelfree to pm me or yell at me or anything else. I could use the motivation. Sorry the update was also delayed by the fact that a F-4 tornado hit and destroyed my home town of Ringgold, GA.**

**I don't own Naruto!**

Orochimaru carried Kabuto into the medic's own bedroom and stood by the bed holding the fallen medic fairly close to and Jiraiya filled into the room behind him looking worriedly at him all the while.

At seeing Orochimaru's lost look she immediately snapped into medic mode.

"We need to get him warmed up." she said briskly as she lead Orochimaru into the room's adjoining bathroom. Orochimaru watched dully as she fiddled with the taps to the bathtud pilling it with luke warm water.

As she filled the tub Orochimaru began to strip the medic all the while thinking of all the sarcastic things Kabuto would be saying were he awake. While Orochimaru was in thought Tsunadae finished filling the tub a motioned for Orochimaru to place Kabuto into the water. Orochimaru gllanced at Tsunadae and carfully put the medic into the warm water and straightened up and looked towards her again.

"Will you watch him for me for a moment I have something I need to do quickly." he said looking at her with a slight smile. Tsunadae nodded and smiled.

"Of course I will. Just be careful." she replied watching with no small amout af trepitation as he left the room.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jiraiya questioned as Orochimaru walked by the bed to leave the room. Orochimaru turned and considered the taller man for a moment before snorting.

"What are you? My father?" he snapped with a glare and sounding irritated. Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru for a moment.

"No, but if I were I'd bend you over my knee." he snapped leveling a harsh glare at the raven haired sannin. Orochimaru simply stared at him for a moment before smirking slightly at him.

"I'd like to see you try. As it is I'm going to check on Sora." He replied sharply glaring at him again before walking towards the door again. Jiraiya sighed got up off the bed and followed Orochimaru to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Orochimaru snapped slightly looking over his shoulder at him. Jiraiya snorted and looked at him evenly.

"I'm going with you, where else?" he replied with a slight smile that only widened when Orochimaru rolled his eyes with a sigh and left the room with Jiraiya following behind.

Orochimaru moved down the hall and came to a stop just before Sora's door and knocked quite loudly. When no answer came he knocked again.

"Maybe she's asleep?" Jiraiya whispered looking at Orochimaru with slightly widened eyes. Orochimaru nodded and carefully turned the door knob and slowly pushed the door open.

"She's not in here." Orochimaru gasped slightly looking around the room. Jiraiya looked around a nodded slightly.

"Maybe she went to go look for you?" Jiriya questioned watching as Orochimaru made his way to the window and looked at the woods his eyes narrowing.

"Or maybe she's speaking to someone in the woods." Orochimaru snapped glaring harshly out the window at a rarely walked down path in the beginning of the woods.

Orochimaru started when Sora turned her eyes toward the window and looked Orochimaru in the eyes with a smirk. He backed away from the window looking unnerved.

'I've seen that shadow like person before,' he thought. Remembering the dream he had a few days ago and the person in the corner of the hallway.

Jiraiya noticed how stiff his friend had gotten as he moved towards the window. He looked out the window and frowned slightly.

'Orochimaru, she's not talking to anyone. She's just taking a walk." He said softly putting a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder.

The smaller man frowned slightly and glanced up at Jiraiya.

"I saw her talking to someone." Orochimaru said as he swept from the room heading back towards Kabuto's room with Jiraiya watching him worriedly trailing behind.

Sora smiled softly when Orochimaru stiffened and left her room. She glanced over th the person shrouded in shadow's next to her. He nodded slightly and took another glance at the window.

"That was him?" He said looking at her " he doesn't look like much." he finished with a snort. Sora laughed softly and shook her head.

"He is one of the legendary three sannin. I wouldn't underestimate him, she replied softly. The other nodded and looked at her again.

"Very well." he whispered dissappearing in a cloud of smoke. Sora laughed and made her way back towards the village.

**Once again sorry this was so late! Please read a review.**


	9. Please Read!

Sorry! My computer broke but I should be updating again in September!


	10. Blue bugs

**Sorry this is so late. My laptop screen was broken for months.**

**I do not own Naruto!**

Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood in the doorway of Kabuto's bedroom. Watching as Tsunade pulled the blankets up over his prone form.

"How is he?" Orochimaru questioned quietly looking quizzically at his fellow sannin. Tsunade looked up and smiled a little.

"He'll be fine with a little rest. He should be up and about tomorrow." she said as she tucked the blankets around Kabuto. Orochimaru gave a relieved smile and sat down on the edge of the bed. Tsunade and Jiraiya shared a look and then looked to Orochimaru.

"Well Orochimaru if I didn't know any better I'd say that you're worried about him." Tsunade said in an almost playful voice. Orochimaru stiffened and glared at them.

"I am not! He's my medic and right hand man I wouldn't be able to run the village with out him that's all." Orochimaru snapped not meeting either of their gazes. Jiraiya frowned a little and moved towards the upset man.

"You know Orochimaru there's nothing wrong with caring for him." he said quietly gesturing towards Kabuto.

"I'm perfectly aware of that but I cannot afford it right now." Orochimaru snapped again obviously stressed and upset. Jiraiya nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay. We'll find out whats going on and fix all of this." He said shocking the other two with his rare moment of sensitivity. Orochimaru smiled slightly and then got up and moved towards the door to the room.

"Thank you. I'm going to go to bed." he said softly giving Jiraiya and odd look as he left the room and made his way towards his own room.

Orochimaru flinched as yet another black figure darted across the hall in front of him. The nervous sannin closed his eyes as he shut the bedroom door behind him.

'It's all just in your head.' he thought to himself as he pulled the blanket up over his legs and laid down quickly falling into an uneasy sleep.

"Orochimaru- sama are you sure you feel up to this?" Kabuto whispered softly as they made their way into the woods surrounding the village. Orochimaru looked at Kabuto and frowned a little.

"We need to find out what attacked you and kill it before it tries to hurt any other villagers." the sannin replied quietly glancing over Kabuto worriedly.

"How are you feeling?" Orochimaru continued glancing over at the medic curiously. Kabuto smiled slightly at him.

"I'm just a little sore Orochimaru- sama but I'm okay." he replied softly taking in the sannin's exhausted appearance.

"Are you okay?" he then said looking at the older man worriedly. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I'm fine Kabuto-kun. I just didn't sleep very well last night. He replied softly smiling slightly at Kabuto as they made their way to the cliff where Kabuto was attacked. As they went off in separated ways around the cliff searching for clues Orochimaru glanced back towards the woods and stopped.

"Sora?" he whispered to himself moving a few steps closer to the woods. Orochimaru glanced back towards Kabuto and then back at Sora.

"If I call out to him she'll heard me. I'd better go alone and she what she's up to. And then I have got to stop talking to myself." he whispered again with a slightly disturbed look.

Orochimaru silently shadowed Sora as she walked though the woods to a secluded clearing. Orochimaru frowned slightly and quietly adjusted his body on the branch.

'What are you up too...?" Orochimaru thought. Sora smirked as a person hidden in shadows moved though the clearing towards her. Orochimaru let out an inaudible gasp as he saw them shadowed person.

'Thais the same person I saw her with the first time with Jiraiya.' he thought shocked. He frowned again as the thought about the implications of this meeting.

'I bet that person is the same one I keep seeing in the house.' Orochimaru thought then his eyes widened slightly.

'What if the creature is connected to Sora as well. And her coming her was simply a rouse to get to me or the others.' he thought Tsunadae, Jiraiya, and Kabuto's faces flashing before his eyes.

'I've got to warn them.' he thought frantically as he launched off the branch. He was so absorbed in his frantic worry that he didn't even notice when Sora preformed several hand signs in quick succession and several bright blue bugs came shooting out from her sleeves.

Orochimaru was several trees away when he heard the buzzing. Flinging a concerned glance over his shoulder he gasped speeding up a little.

"What are those...?" he gasped as he leaped to another branch. Orochimaru glanced back again and gasped a little as he noticed how much closer they had gotten.

"My cover's defiantly blown." He whispered softly to himself. Taking a gasping breath he screamed for Kabuto just as the blue bugs over took him.

'I'm not finding anythings so far just a few hairs.' Kabuto thought to himself disgruntled.

"Maybe Orochimaru-sama fared better." Kabuto said tho himself and he looked over his shoulder for the sannin spinning around when he didn't see him.

"Orohimaru-sama?" Kabuto called worriedly looking around. 'Maybe he went to look in the woods?' Kabuto questioned himself as he made his way worriedly o the woods. The moment he steeped thought the trees he heard his name being screamed. Kabuto's eyes widened.

"Orochimaru-sama!"

**Once again sorry it took so long for me to update. I'll be updating every Wednesday from now on. Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Whoo! Another chapter up!**

**I don't own Naruto**

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto cried as her ran through the woods to the place where he thought he heard the cry. Looking around frantically he inhaled sharply and ran towards the mass of black hair splayed across the ground.

"Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto whispered softly touching the sannin's hair and flinching when he pulled back violently.

"Don't touch me!" he screeched loudly pulling back eyes wide and pupils dilated. Kabuto's eyes widened as well when he saw the look of pure terror on the sannin's pale face.

"It's okay." the young medic soothed softly. "It's just me. Just Kabuto." he whispered worriedly looking into the sannin's wild eyes. Kabuto worried his bottom lip a little before slowly and deliberately reaching out and touching the scared man gently on the arm.

Orochimaru stiffened a little but didn't pull away. Kabuto smiled encouragingly at him and carefully pulled Orochimaru closer to him and smiled again.

"It's okay." Kabuto whispered again only to gasp as Orochimaru slammed into his chest hiding his face in the medics neck.

"Don't let them near me!" he screamed hysterically, squeezing the medic tighter by the minute. Kabuto frowned.

"But Orochimaru-sama there isn't anyone here but us." Kabuto murmured softly trying to detach the older man from his neck. Orochimaru shook his head still holding on tightly despite the medics efforts to move him.

"They're over there." he whispered nervously pointing to a place over Kabuto's left shoulder. Kabuto looked behind himself and saw nothing in the area where Orochimaru was pointing. Kabuto furrowed his brow and frowned deeper.

'There's nothing there." Kabuto whispered reassuringly rubbing the sannin's back in an effort to soothe him. Orochimaru peeked over Kabuto's shoulder only to yelp and bury his face back into Kabuto's neck.

"I still see them." he whispered softly with a slight whimper. Kabuto sighed looking down at Orochimaru concerned.

"How about I take you back to the village? Would that make you feel better?" Kabuto replied softly smiling when Orochimaru nodded quickly.

"Do you need me to carry you?" Kabuto asked even as he was lifting the sannin into his arms. Orochimaru sighed.

"It would appear that I have no choice." he replied in a very shaky voice as he buried his face deeper into Kabuto's neck in haling the soft comforting sent the medic carried.

Kabuto smiled a little at that remark and hummed.

'At least he's not completely out of it. He's trying to regain a sense of normalcy but he still won't look up. And the fact that he's terrified of things I can see. Hallucinations? Possibly, I'll have to get more information when we get back home.' Kabuto though as he maneuvered carefully though the woods so as to not snag any of Orochimaru's clothing or his own.

"It'll be okay." Kabuto whispered to Orochimaru with a slight grimace. 'At least I hope it will be.' he thought worriedly as the villages gates came into view.

**Sorry it's so short! It'll be longer next week! Please review**


	12. Talks

**Okay SO I got really busy with my birthday and a few other things and that is the reason for how late this is. As apology I will be posting six chapters in the course of three days. Starting with a super long one tonight! Enjoy~**

**I do not own! **

Kabuto sighed softly as he made it though the village gates. Glancing down he bit his bottom lip with intense worry. Orochimaru had passed out when they were mere feet from the village gates.

"Just what happened back there?" The medic questioned himself aloud as he quickly walked though the village ignoring the astonished and worried stares that followed him.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he jumped when he felt a hand resting on his arm.

"Sensei? Did you hear me?" Kabuto looked to his side and saw Ayame standing there looking worried. Kabuto blinked slightly and swallowed.

"I'm fine Ayame." he murmured softly looking at the diminutive eighteen year old. She bit her bottom lip slightly and frowned.

Are you sure?" she started slowly looking at him nervously before speaking in a rushed worried voice.

"BecauseyoulookreallypaleandI''mnotsurehowtodealwiththat." she finished in record time and out of breath.

Kabuto stopped in his tracks and stared at her wide eyed before blinking slightly a small smile quirking his lips before continuing on Ayame trailing behind him.

"I am fine." He said again glancing back at her with another small smile. I'm just very worried and a little confused to be honest." he whispered softly. Ayame quirked an eyebrow and frowned slightly.

"Confused?" she repeated sounding a little confused her self. Kabuto glanced down at Orochimaru and sped up a little.

"Yes, he was very upset when I got to him. He was seeing things that were not there." the medic replied quietly glancing around to make sure none of the villagers had heard. The last thing they needed to know was that their kage was suffering from hallucinations.

"Like hallucinations?" Ayame whispered also in a hushed tone. Kabuto nodded at her and mounted the step up to the otokage's mansion. Glancing behind him he looked at her and smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow." he whispered softly smiling a little wider when she waved and ran off.

"Now lets see to you." he murmured softly to Orochimaru as he opened the door. Only to face a nearly frantic Jiraiya and a worried Tsunadae.

"Where have you been?" She snapped just before her eyes settled on the unconscious Orochimaru in his arms.

"What happened?" she said in a rushed tone as she gently looked over Orochimaru as they walked towards the labs and small medical center located within the house. Kabuto frowned slightly as he recalled everything he saw and heard that could explain it.

"I heard an odd buzzing sound and him scream. I found him on the ground hysterical, he didn't recognize me at first and and violently pulled back from me but then he relaxed a little. However he kept screaming for me to keep them away from him." Kabuto finished with a small sigh as he laid Orochimaru on a bed.

Tsunadae frowned at him. Glancing at Orochimaru she looked back at Kabuto then at Jiraiya.

"Keep what away?" she said sharing a confused look with Jiraiya. Kabuto gave a slight chuckle and smiled at the two.

"I do not know. I couldn't see anything but he obviously did." the medic replied quietly moving a bit closer to Orochimaru's side and lightly touching his hand. Her sharp gaze softened slightly as she looked at the slight gesture of comfort for both the sannin and the medic.

Suddenly Orochimaru began to stir a little starling the both of them as his eyes nearly snapped open. He made a soft noise of fear and immediately moved closer to Kabuto with a slight whimper.

"Are you okay?" Kabuto questioned immediately glancing over his shoulder at the area where Orochimaru's eyes kept being drawn to. Orochimaru shuddered slightly and nodded a little still staring at that same area now looking terrified.

Without warning he flung himself into Kabuto's arms again and buried his face into the medics neck trembling. Kabuto looked at Tsunadae and Jiraiya and frowned again.

"Are they back?" Kabuto whispered softly into the sannin's ear. Orochimaru nodded quickly keeping his eyes hidden. Kabuto nodded and frowned looking at the other two sannin worriedly.

"We can never leave him alone." he said quietly" I don't think that these hallucinations will be going away anytime soon." he said looking at Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"I wonder what caused them?" she whispered frowning heavily. Jiraiya looked at them both with wide eyes and then back to the frightened man in Kabuto's arms.

"So we should take shifts?" he whispered looking upset. Kabuto nodded at him and glanced down at Orochimaru and carefully picked him up again.

"I'm going to take him to his room." he replied softly as he went out the door the other two following him down the hall and to the slightly ornate carved doors that marked Orochimaru's room.

Jiraiya moved ahead of Kabuto and opened the doors for him. Kabuto smiled at him and moved into the room and gently sat Orochimaru down on the bed then climbing in the bed himself.

At the puzzled yet knowing look from the other two sannin he promptly flushed and defended himself.

"He won't let go!" Kabuto half shouted causing Orochimaru to jump. Kabuto gently squeezed his hand in apology and glanced back up fuming silently at the odd look they were giving him again. Rolling his eyes he continued their earlier conversation.

"So we need to take shifts, who all should we ask to help?" he questioned in an attempt to distract them from himself and the sannin.

"Well there is Ayame, Kokoro, and Mizashi. You and Jiraiya and I." Tsunade replied looking at Jiraiya for his additions to the small list.

"What about that girl? Ayame?" he said looking quizzical. Kabuto opened his mouth to reply but was halted by Orochimaru ear shattering scream of terror. Kabuto's eye widened and then flew to Orochimaru.

"What's wrong?" he cried in alarm carefully pulling him up to look at him. Orochimaru's eyes were terriried.

"Not her anyone but her. Please not her" he murmured feverishly clinging to Kabuto's arms in distress. Kabuto nodded and gently petted what he could of Orochimaru's arm.

"Okay we won't let her near you , don't worry." he said in as soothing a voice as he could muster. Orochimaru sighed slightly in relief and resumed leaning against Kabuto and dozing off.

Kabuto looked at the two other occupants of the room.

"So we won't let her anywhere near him." he said as if that was the plan all along. Tsunade and Jiraiya nodded enthusiastically.

"Tsunade if you will take first watch I would be grateful." Kabuto said as he carefully got of the bed and moved towards the door.

Sure. But where are you going?" she questioned worriedly. Kabuto turned and looked at her with grim determination.

"I'm going to go into the woods and try to solve this mystery." he said as he turned and left the room.

**Dramatic exit! SO I'll be updating again tomorrow and I should be two or three chapters I haven't decided yet. **

**Happy Reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay now then on to the next chapter! Sorry but my grandfather is not doing to well so I'll have all six posted though out the next four days instead of three! Whoo! Onwards! **

**Edit: Sorry! This was supposed to be uploaded last night by my internet stopped working for a while.**

**I do not own!**

"I know there has to be something here. Kabuto murmured to himself as he wondered though the area where he found Orochimaru. The medic huffed slightly as he pushed aside yet another bush and knelt down closely examining the ground. Sighing he got up and began to move to look under a neighboring bush then stopped when something blue caught his eyes.

"Well that's odd." he whispered kneeling down once again and peering closely at the small winged blue insect. Pulling back he pulled a small bag and a pair of tweezers from his pouch and carefully picked the bug up and placed in within the bag.

Kabuto stood and continued to search the forest finally coming to a tree branch that that had Orochimaru's chakra signature embedded into it.

"That's odd." he said quietly as he looked around the secluded clearing he had come to. As he looked he noticed a slight disturbance on the ground in front of him. Kabuto walked over to the disturbance realizing that it was a actually a pair of footprints.

Kabuto looked at them for a moment silently analyzing them.

'It's a standard ninja shoe. But it looks small. So a female's? More than likely. And the others are of a type I have never seen before but they look as though they would belong to man. This is very strange." he thought to hims self as he quickly made his way out of the woods having found a solid clue to Orochimaru's condition and a possible clue for who had caused it.

Kabuto began to walk back to the village a quickly as he could without running. 'I feel as though I am being watched." he thought to himself as he began somehow walking even faster. He glanced around worriedly as he walked attempting to find the source of the disturbing feeling. Hearing a twig snap behind him he bolted running from an unseen person in pursuit of him.

Panting hard Kabuto knew he could not stop least he be caught by whoever was following him. The only relief in sight came from the village gates which he was fast approaching. Kabuto screeched to a halt just inside the village gates trying to ignore the odd looks the civilian were giving him as he scrutinized the tree line waiting to catch a glimpse of who ever it was.

The villagers began laughing as a harmless bunny hopped slowly out of the underbrush. Kabuto stared wide eyed at it then turned around to fa e the laughing villagers.

"It was...I was...it..it..never mind." he stuttered blushing and putting his head in his hand he quickly walked down the main path of the village and to the lab amid the sound of laughter.

Kabuto closed the doors and leaned against them in relief.

"I am such an idiot." he whispered to himself as he moved away from the door and down the hall to lab one. Kabuto sat the small bag containing the bug down on the near by counter. Kabuto pulled on gloves and turned to the counter carefully opening the bag and dumping the bug out onto a dissection tray. Kabuto pulled out a scalpel and carefully dissected the bug.

As he was working he noticed an odd almost sack like organ in the bugs midsection. A small tube lead away from the sack and though the bugs body and up to its mandibles.

"It appears to be venom sack. Well that's odd. Its almost as it it sprays venom out of it mouth instead of a stinger." he muttered to himself as he carefully extracted the sack from the bug and out it on a separate tray for later examination. During the middle of the dissection Kabuto realized something he found rather odd.

"There's a chakra signature on this bug." he exclaimed in shock. Knitting his eyebrows he frowned softly.

"Kekkei Genkai?" he questioned himself a little confused giving the bug an odd look as he filed away the thought for further research in the future.

Once Kabuto had learned all he could from the bug's body he turned to the venom sack with a little apprehension. 'If I am right and this bug is the cause of Orochimaru-sama's hallucinations then I'll have to be even more careful to not rupture it.' he though to himself as he pulled on a fresh pair of gloves and began to work on he sack extracting a small about of the venom and began to run tests on it.

Once he saw the results from the test he jumped back a little staring at the wall in shock. Taking a shaky breath he picked up the paper with a trembling hand and read the results again.

"But t..that's impossible. You can even find that type of venom here. It's only found in the land of snow." he murmured worriedly. Kabuto looked at the paper again his eyes skimming over the words at a rapid pace. Kabuto suddenly frowned a dangerous look crossing his face.

"I only know one person who comes from a snowy land." he said as he turned swiftly towards the doors and quickly made his way towards the library his thought's consumed by a certain new addition to their village.

**Once again sorry about the delay! I hope you enjoyed it! Please r&r. Thanks**


	14. Chapter 14

**Next Chapter up! **

**I do not own**

Once at the library Kabuto made his way over to the restricted section and showed a small card he had in his pouch to one of the anbu black ops guards standing at the entrance. The guard nodded and moved aside letting Kabuto by him and into closed off area. Kabuto immediately walked over to the area containing the most scrolls about kekkei genkai.

Rummaging though the scrolls Kabuto bit his lip in concentration until he found the one scroll detailing bug related kekkei genkai.

"Finally." the medic whispered to himself as he took the scroll to a nearby table and sat down. Opening the scroll he gently began to unroll it looking first at the crude drawings of different insects then reading though the description on abilities of every small flying bug he encountered stopping abruptly when he saw a drawing of the little blue bug he found in the forest.'

His eyes flicking over the surface of the paper he became more and more worried as he read parts of the passage aloud.

"Have very high hallucinogenic effects of the mind...can cause gastric bleeding and ulcers... painful death?" Kabuto chocked out in a terrified voice.

"I have got to tell Tsunade!" Kabuto all but shouted as he pushed away from the table and ran from the room.

"What is going on here?" Jiraiya questioned Tsunade once they were sure that Orochimaru had fallen into a deep sleep. Tsunade bit her lip and frowned slightly gazing unseeingly as the sleeping sannin in front of her.

"I would be tempted to say a mental breakdown or possibly a leap into insanity but he doesn't really show any signs of either one. He was sick before he went out into the snow and he is still sick. I'm more tempted to declare it hallucinations from sickness but those usually come with a high fever and his is nonexistent to moderate at best. I am afraid I have to say that I don't know." She finished in a sad tone of voice still gazing at Orochimaru. Jiraiya sighed softly and looked to the ground worriedly.

"Well maybe Kabuto found something useful." he murmured softly glancing at Tsunade he smiled slightly.

"We can hope." she replied softly smiling a little as well. She turned to face the door as Kabuto's three students came tumbling though the barely open door.

"Ayame, Kokoro and Mizashi. We're you eavesdropping?" she questioned in good humor. The three students looked at the floor in embarrassment. Ayame the second most talkative of the three stepped forward some and glanced at Orochimaru.

"How is he?" She asked neatly skirting the question. Tsunade smiled in amusement and looked at her.

"He fell asleep about thirty minutes ago. I don't foresee him waking up for a few more hours. He shouldn't be much of a problem for you three." She replied as she and Jiraiya moved towards the door. The three students nodded and took their places around Orochimaru's bed.

"This is crazy." Kokoro murmured in his deep quiet voice looking at the other two. Mizashi nodded quickly.

"It is. Orochimaru-sama is the strongest ninja in the village. What could possibly be strong enough to take him down like this?" he added quickly in a slightly hyper voice looking quickly at the sleeping sannin. Ayame frowned looked at the floor sadly.

"And Sensei is so upset. And even he nearly got killed. " she said softly while the other two looked slightly shocked.

"Nearly killed? How do you know this?" Kokoro questioned wide eyed. Ayame smiled a bit a the worry in his usually unemotional voice.

"I heard them talking about it. Apparently he was forced to jump off a cliff. Tsunade found him and brought him back here and he was unconscious for an entire day." she said glancing down at Orochimaru again.

Mizashi opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as Orochimaru jerked into a sitting position coughing up large amounts of blood.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Ayame cried as she and Mizashi leaned across the bed to steady him. Ayame looked at Kokoro with terrified eyes.

"Go find Tsunade/" she said rapidly as Orochimaru's coughing intensified. Kokoro got up and ran from the room the last thing he heard before the door shut was Orochimaru's desperate hacking.

**Sorry It's so short! I'll be posting two chapters tomorrow! Please r&r!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the delay! I had to put up a tree and watch the last Harry Potter movie with my family. But the last three chapters should be all put up today and tomorrow! I''m sorry for my fail!**

**~~~And thank you to all my lovely reviewers. You never fail to give me insiration to continue this story. You guy's rock!~~~~**

**I do not own Naruto!**

"What is taking me so long?" Kabuto questioned as he ran quickly towards the mansion where Orochimaru and the other sannin should be. Kabuto sighed softly as picked up his pace a little then suddenly stopping eyes wide.

Grumbling he quickly made hand signs and used the body flicker technique and appeared inside of the mansion moments later. Sighing over his thoughtlessness he turned to the hall leading to Orochimaru's bedroom.

He quickly walked down the hall his pace speeding up with every small noise he heard coming from the door in front of him. Finally after what seemed after and eternity Kabuto had his hand on the handle of the door.

'Here goes nothing.' he thought as he opened the door with a sense off apprehension. Inside there was a feeling of slight panic as his three students, and Tsunade moved quickly around the bed desperately trying to heal the ailing man. Kabuto turned his head a little and saw Jiraiya sitting near the bed looking upset.

"What's happened?" Kabuto questioned as he quickly made his way towards the bed. His students looked up in relief at hearing their sensei's worried voice.

"Sensei!" they exclaimed looking at him with pure happiness and relief. Tsunade glanced up from her administration' quickly.

"He's been coughing up blood and had a mild seizure. I believe his stomach is bleeding." she murmured softly not looking up from the soft greenish-blue glow surrounding her hands. Kabuto frowned and bit his bottom lip hard.

"I was worried that you were going to say that." he whispered quietly attracting everyone's attention simultaneously.

"What do you mean?" the all asked at once flustering the poor medic.

"W..well I did some research today and I found something. I believe it was a small blue bug that is summoned though a special kekkei genkai that is only found in the land of snow." he began as he looked up and locked eyes with the other two sannin. Who had both looked up at the statement. Taking in a small shaky breath he continued.

"These small bugs can cause very strong hallucinogenic effects of the mind...can cause gastric bleeding and ulcers... and ending in a very painful death." The medic murmured morosely staring at the floor as a small amount of tears rushed unbidden to his eyes at the thought of Orochimaru's possible death. Kabuto began blinking the tears back desperate to not let the others see him cry.

The other occupants of the room gasped in shock and looked at the medic then at each other. Jiraiya swallowed loudly and cleared his throat.

"Death?" he whispered weakly looking at Kabuto with a sick feel in his stomach. Taking a shuddering breath the older man continued.

"You mean he could die from this? Is there a cure?" he finished looking so hopeful Kabuto had to smile a little. Jiriaya's eyes lit up when he noticed Kabuto's a smile as did everyone the rest of the group's. Nodding slowly Kabuto took a step towards the bed and frowned a little bit noticing how labored Orochimaru's breathing seemed to be.

"There is only one cure. You have to kill the caster of the jutsu, within five days of the initial bite of the insect." Kabuto replied looking at the small group. Ayame looked up looking somewhat confused looking at her sensei she tilted her head to the side.

"But Sensei, how do we know who did this?" she whispered looking around in a slightly suspicious manner before looking back at her sensei worriedly. Kabuto's eyes narrowed and he frowned suddenly looking more terrifying than they had ever seen him. Even the room darkened causing a truly frightening moment for all involved.

"I think I know who." he replied his voice a little deeper than normal and a slight red shine in his eyes causing everyone to step back.

Seeing this Kabuto blinked and his eyes went back to their normal dark almost black silver. And the room's lighting changed back to normal.

"But we shouldn't talk about in here. Someone could overhear us." He finished in his normal voice with a smile. All the occupants of the room looked at each other wide eyed at Kabuto's sudden change of mood.

Orochimaru moaned softly distracting everyone's attention from the current conversation. Kabuto moved with no hesitation to the sannin's side worry etched on his face.

"Orochimaru-sama." he whispered softly as he laid his hand on Orochimaru's forehead. Frowning over the height of the fever he felt he glanced up.

"I need ice cold water." he said to Kokoro who immediately rushed to the adjoined bathroom to get the water and cloth his sensei asked for. Kabuto smiled at his student and took the small bowl and cloth from his hands immediately placing the cold wet cloth on Orochimaru's forehead and quickly.

'His heart rate is much to high.' he thought as he place a glowing hand to the sannin's chest carefully lowering his heart rate and easing Orochimaru's breathing slightly. Kabuto gave a small fragile little smile and shifted a little.

"What will I do if you die?' he thought as he looked at Orochimaru's pale face with a frown.

Kabuto glanced up and locked eyes with Tsunade then looked back down sighing softly.

"It's been one day and one night since he has been bitten and we are going on the second day. We don't have very long to kill her." He whispered quietly looking back up at her. Tsunade smirked and cracked her knuckles in a threatening manner.

"Then I guess we'll just have to do this quickly." she replied.

**Sorry for the delay! The others will be up tomorrow. Sorry for any grammar errors, I have to beta reader but if anyone wants to be my beta reader please pm me! Happy reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A beta reader? Anyone? Well beta reader or know here is the next chapter. As well as a notice of the change in my update schedule. I should be updating every other Friday from now on. And as soon as this story is finished I should be able to update the others. Oh and this chapter won't be as long. **

**I do not own Naruto. **

Standing behind her Jiraiya nodded and gave a grim smile. "We will go find her." he said softly as they made their way to the door Kabuto nodded and sat down on the edge of Orochimaru's bed and looked to his students.

"You three should go to the labs and begin work on the poison I had you working on earlier this week." he said smiling at little at their unsure and hesitant looks.

"I'll be fine here and don't worry you guys won't miss out on any of the fireworks when they bring her back here." he said with a chuckle and a grin and the slightly guilty looks on their faces. Nodding the three of them left and quickly made their way to the labs. Kabuto turned his head and looked at Orochimaru with a knowing look.

"I suppose you want more information on what's happening." he said quietly to the supposedly sleeping man on the bed. Orochimaru coughed softly a smirked.

"How did you know I was awake?" he questioned in a cracked voice blinking gold eyes open and gazing curiously at the medic. Kabuto smiled and laughed softly leaning forward he moved the cloth a little and rechecked the sannin's temperature.

"I am a medic. I can read your heart rate from here." he said chuckling again at the look on Orochimaru's face.

"I didn't know you could do that." he said locking eyes with Kabuto for a moment before looking at the bowl of water on the nightstand.

"I can do a lot of things." he said quietly dismissing what was a small feat in his eyes. Orochimaru smiled a little and looked up at Kabuto as he replaced the cloth on his forehead.

"It is still impressive though." he replied smiling wider at the slight rose coloring tint his cheeks a light pink.

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama." he replied to the praise quietly. Orochimaru smiled and looked at Kabuto again as the medic cleared his throat softly.

"Orochimaru-sama was Sora the one who sent the bugs after you?" he questioned gently as Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly fleck of green becoming visible due to the sannin's residual fear lingering over the topic.

"I can not remember it very well. I may need a moment to recall." he murmured looking into Kabuto's understanding eyes as the boy nodded.

Flashes of green, blue, and brown appeared before Orochimaru's eyes and he recalled being chased though the trees. Narrowing his eyes the sannin sifted though the onslaught of rapidly appearing images. Finally forcing the images and memories to slow down he began to piece the memories together in the correct order.

Orochimaru could clearly see himself standing at the edge of the woods and he could he himself as he glanced back towards the woods and stopped.

"Sora?" he whispered to himself moving a few steps closer to the woods. Orochimaru glanced back towards Kabuto and then back at Sora.

"If I call out to him she'll heard me. I'd better go alone and she what she's up to. And then I have got to stop talking to myself." he whispered again with a slightly disturbed look.

Orochimaru silently shadowed Sora as she walked though the woods to a secluded clearing. Orochimaru frowned slightly and quietly adjusted his body on the branch.

'What are you up too...?" Orochimaru thought. Sora smirked as a person hidden in shadows moved though the clearing towards her. Orochimaru let out an inaudible gasp as he saw them shadowed person.

'This the same person I saw her with the first time with Jiraiya.' he thought shocked. He frowned again as the thought about the implications of this meeting.

'I bet that person is the same one I keep seeing in the house.' Orochimaru thought then his eyes widened slightly.

'What if the creature is connected to Sora as well. And her coming here was simply a rouse to get to me or the others.' he thought Tsunadae, Jiraiya, and Kabuto's faces flashing before his eyes.

'I've got to warn them.' he thought frantically as he launched off the branch. He was so absorbed in his frantic worry that he didn't even notice when Sora preformed several hand signs in quick succession and several bright blue bugs came shooting out from her sleeves.

Orochimaru was several trees away when he heard the buzzing. Flinging a concerned glance over his shoulder he gasped speeding up a little.

"What are those...?" he gasped as he leaped to another branch. Orochimaru glanced back again and gasped a little as he noticed how much closer they had gotten.

"My cover's defiantly blown." He whispered softly to himself. Taking a gasping breath he screamed for Kabuto just as the blue bugs over took him. Orochimaru struggled desperately as the bugs swirled around him and he gasped as a sharp stinging sensation seared though his body. Gritting his teeth to avoid any screams he made rapid hand signs and caused a gale of wind to rush around him. The bugs were either killed or blown away. Orochimaru exhaustedly fell to the ground shacking from both the adrenaline of the chase and the exhaustion from not sleeping the day before.

Gasping for air Orochimaru looked up and started when he noticed their were mutilated versions of his parents and villagers he used to know staring back a him. Orochimaru let out a terrified whimper and pulled back away from them as they began to move towards him. Before any of them could touch him he heard Kabuto calling for him not to far off.

Orochimaru gasoed sharply and looked up at Kabutp with wide eyes.

"I would say yes and no." he murmured softly looking down a little. Gagging as more blood attempted to strangle him.

"Do you think she knows we are coming?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade as they moved quickly towards the room Orochimaru gave Sora.

"I doubt it." Tsunade replied as they stopped in front of the door. Jiraiya reached out and turned the knob.

**Thanks to DarkAngleJudas for reviewing on every chapter. Everyone needs and awesome reviewer like you!**

**Please r and r. Thanks!**


	17. Chapter 17

**I can finally update again! Sorry for the long delay, I had to buy a new computer because my laptop died. Again. So updates should be a little more regular now. **

**I do not own Naruto!**

"Jiraiya flung open the door and proceeded to scream like a little girl." Tsunade gasped peering around the door facing and into the room, fearing the worst due to Jiraiya's high pitched scream.

"What was that about?" She shouted rounding on him and punching him into the far wall of the room. Grumbling, she made her way into the room and looked around and frowned.

"Someone certainly left in a hurry." Jiraiya commented looking around the messy room. Tsunade frowned and nodded slightly.

"I'd say." she replied looking at the flipped furniture. "In fact if I didn't know better I would almost say it looks as if she was abducted. " She finished look at the shards of glass from the window. Jiraiya got up and joined her at the broken glass nodding.

"I see what you mean; even the window was broken from the outside." He said looking a little baffled. Tsunade frowned deeper and glance again around the room.

"We should look for any clues to where she might have gone." She said softly as they began to sift through the broken furniture and strewn about clothing.

Jiraiya sat back on his heels tiredly after about four hours of digging and searching through every nook and cranny of the room. He looked at Tsunade and sighed irritated at the whole situation.

"I don't think she left any clues here." He grumbled as he stood stretching out the cramping muscles of his back. Tsunade stood as well and glared at the room in general and snarled kicking a piece of furniture.

"Well I'll say this for her, she's clever. And It wouldn't surprise me if she was right under our noses." She snapped kicking a chair across the room and sighing. Jiraiya snorted and nodded.

"Yeah or hidden in plain sight." He said with a slight smile. Tsunade snorted.

"Like she's that good." She replied rolling her eyes then went stock still. "Or is she?" she questioned softly looking worriedly at Jiraiya. Jiraiya's eyes widened and he began moving towards the door.

"She's in plain sight. We have to get back to Orochimaru and Kabuto." He all but shouted and they both began to run down the hallway.

Kabuto sighed as he threw away another blood covered tissue. He turned and went back to Orochimaru sitting on the side of the bed and looking at him.

"I still can't figure out why you're still coughing up blood. There doesn't appear to be any reason for it." He said sounding exasperated. Orochimaru smiled patiently and placed a slender hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure you will figure it out eventually. It has not been going on that long. Maybe it just needs time?" he said softly looking at the medic. Kabuto sighed and smile tugging at his lips.

"I suppose you're right." He mumbled. Orochimaru snorted and rolled his eyes.

"I am always right." He said with a light smirk. Kabuto laughed and opened his mouth to reply when to door slammed open startling the two of them.

"You have to get out of here!" Jiraiya shouted and he flew into the room Tsunade on his heels. Orochimaru's eyes widened and he sat up straighter as he watched a figure pulled away for the shadows.

"Sensei…?"

**Once again I apologize for the long delay. I sill in tend on updating every Friday. Please read and review.**


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